cberger@thecherawchronicle.com
CHERAW - Local authorities have taken into custody four suspects charged with the armed bank robbery of Sentry Bank & Trust on Tuesday and Carolina Bank on Sept. 28.
The four suspects taken into custody are Steven N. Leviner, 37, of Hamlet, N.C., Casey Brandon Woolard, 24, of Rockingham, N.C., Devann Ruth Gilmore, 27, of Hamlet, N.C., and Danielle Nicole Fletcher, 22, of Rockingham, N.C.
All four suspects are currently being held in the Richmond County Detention Center in Rockingham awaiting extradition.
"Once they see the judge there, all four suspects will be extradited from North Carolina back here and then we will issue South Carolina warrants for them," said Cheraw Police Chief Jay Brooks.
The apprehension of the suspects came not long after the Sentry Bank & Trust branch at 515 Market Street in Cheraw was robbed on Tuesday around 2:50 p.m.
According to Brooks, the man suspected of robbing Sentry Bank is Leviner. Police also believe he is the same person who robbed Carolina Bank and that he was not working alone.
The Cheraw Police Department received the call seconds after the robbery and arrived at Sentry Bank within minutes.
Wearing similar attire to the first robbery, the suspect, dressed in a blue blazer, blue jeans and carrying a briefcase, entered the bank with a blue bandana around his face and demanded cash.
According to Brooks, a witness said that the suspect called out, "If anyone tries anything, shoot'em." Similar to the first robbery, the suspect also had a rag tied around one of his hands to give the impression of a gun.
Another white male suspect was seen outside Sentry Bank waiting in the parking lot. The two suspects fled the bank on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash. Police say the two got into a new white 4-door Chrysler parked on Huger Street. Two female suspects were waiting inside the car.
Shortly after the crime, the vehicle was spotted and stopped at the Intersection of S.C. 177 and 74 in North Carolina.
Detective Gary Carter of the Hamlet Police Department arrested the four suspects. Evidence was recovered from the vehicle.
According to Brooks, SLED and the FBI are assisting in the investigation.
Brooks also said that there is possibly a fifth male suspect.
"We are gathering information on him at this time and a warrant for his arrest will be issued," said Brooks.
"One of the four suspects was involved in the Carolina Bank robbery with Leviner the first time," said Brooks. "Another new suspect was involved in the Sentry Bank robbery. There are a total of five suspects involved between the two robberies, and all are from North Carolina."
"By working together with SLED, the FBI, state and federal law enforcement, everything will be able to fall into place," said Brooks.
John Long, President of Sentry Bank stated that the staff did a great job remaining calm during the robbery.
"The bank employees stayed calm and were able to get the suspect out of the bank quickly," said Brooks. "The main thing is that no one was hurt."
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